CNN's own ORC opinion poll immediately following the second presidential debate on October 9 stunned pundits and viewers, who almost unanimously declared either a draw or Trump the winner, when it showed 57% of respondents declaring Hillary Clinton the winner. However, the problem with the poll was blatantly declared live on CNN and on their news pages along with the stunning results.

Out of the poll's 537 participants, 311 declared themselves supporters of Hillary Clinton. CNN made no attempt to hide the poll's heavily skewed numbers, as they reported on their website:

"The results Sunday also track closely with watchers' pre-debate preference. Fifty-eight percent of debate watchers said they were supporting Clinton before the debate."

According to the numbers, a handful of Hillary supporters out of the 311 did not declare her the winner following the debate. Although insignificant, it adds to the idea that the debate had very little effect on partisan supporters overall, but that Trump was able to sway supporters. A focus group conducted by Frank Luntz on the night of the debate contradicts CNN's poll results, showing Trump's support rising after the debate.

CNN's heavily skewed poll cannot be considered an accurate reflection of the debate results, yet it has been shared by large media outlets like The Guardian and CBC to declare Hillary Clinton the winner.